Girl's stabbing appears intentional, not botched robbery

Apr. 30, 2013
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Valley Springs resident Stacey Sims, right, comforts fellow resident Amanda Pekarek on April 28. Both knew Leila Fowler, 8, who was stabbed to death in her home on April 27 by an apparent intruder. / Elias Funez, The Modesto Bee, via AP

by Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY

by Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY

The Calaveras County sheriff says the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old girl in her northern California home by an intruder was apparently intentional and not a botched robbery or crime gone wrong.

Third-grader Leila Fowler was killed Saturday afternoon in her home in the small town of Valley Springs, 115 miles east of San Francisco. Her 12-year-old brother told police he encountered the intruder who fled on foot.

The sheriff's office has described the intruder as a muscular, 6-foot male, either white or Latino, with long, graying hair and wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and blue pants. But at least one other possible witness has given a different description, complicating efforts to produce a composite drawing of the suspect.

Speaking at a Monday evening news conference, Sheriff Gary Kuntz said officers "will not rest until we capture the responsible person."

"This is a sad time in Calaveras County," he told reporters. "We are doing everything possible to apprehend the person responsible for the murder of this 8-year-old girl."

Dozens of residents of the shocked community of 3,500 also turned out to pick up any meager scraps of information on the manhunt for the killer.

Authorities had called for residents to "shelter in place" during the first two days of the manhunt and many continued to keep their children indoors.

"Usually you can hear kids playing and running around in the backyards up and down the streets with their skateboards," resident Kelly Dillon told KXTV. "And it's just been still. Very still."

"It's just scary," said another resident, Jeanne White. "This is a place where people don't usually lock their doors."

Kuntz did not elaborate on why investigators believe the attack was intentional.

As many as 100 officers and other personnel searched homes, crawl spaces, attics, outbuildings and the tall grass in the hilly, rural neighborhood where Leila was slain. Officers also used metal detectors in an area alongside the Fowler home.

The sheriff's office has said that investigators recovered fingerprints and DNA-like material at the crime scene.

Residents, who have posted signs and purple and pink ribbons in memory of Leila at the Jenny Lind Elementary School she attended, planned a candlelight vigil for Tuesday night.

A family friend said Leila mother has been struggling to come to grips with her daughter's violent death.

"A lot of pain, a lot of anger, a lot of 'why,' confusion," said Amanda Pekarek, who added her own daughter was like an older sister to Leila.

KXTV reporter George Warren said a sheriff's spokesperson said Leila's brother has been questioned several times about her death and is not considered a suspect.

"Try and put yourself in his shoes. He's 12 years old and he's the one who found her," said Pekarek.